Snapshot in Time: Development of Pages Beach a popular chapter in local history

It is summertime and this is Geraldton, so of course we must present you with a topical image.

In this instance it features Pages Beach, named after Ray Page, who was heavily involved in the location’s development.

Ray was a Geraldton town councillor, a crayfisherman (for a short while) and also established Pages Auto Electrical. Originally born in Fremantle, Ray Page became familiar with Geraldton while spending time here during World War II and made friends within the fishing community. He was determined to move back to Geraldton when the war ended.

In 1945, he was able to make his dream come true. Accommodation was very scarce during this time so Ray lived in a simple beach camp and reconnected with his fishing friends. Works at Page’s Beach started from 1964.

The popular West End Beach was disappearing underneath the construction of Berth 4 at the harbour. Ray thought it was important that a replacement beach was created for families with small children. He enlisted the help of volunteers to help clear scrub, gravel a parking area and construct beach shelters.

Somewhere along the line the apostrophe disappeared and the name of the beach morphed in to Pages Beach. Today the park area is maintained by the City of Greater Geraldton and the sheltered beach has become one of the area’s most popular places for local families to spend time by the water.

Snapshots is an initiative of the Geraldton Regional Library. For more information, or to donate a historical photo or slide, contact 9956 6659 or library@cgg.wa.gov.au.